6 ways to build an employee referral program that works
An employee referral program can be a superior recruiting tool: referred
candidates are typically cheaper and faster to hire and stay at their jobs
longer than traditional hires. But how do you make your employee referral
program effective? Here are six ways:
1. Explain job requirements
Employees don’t instantly know what their companies are looking for in
candidates. They might have an idea of what “culture fit” means. But specific
job requirements may be less clear, especially if employees are asked to refer
people who work in different departments and job functions.
Dispel the mystery. Include links to job descriptions when sending emails
asking for referrals. It can also be a good idea to highlight what you’re
not
looking for. The U.S. energy company DCP Midstream went out of its way to
prevent unqualified referrals with a campaign to remind employees that not
every friend or acquaintance makes a good colleague:
2. Keep employees updated
Employees who refer candidates expect to receive updates on the process. Not
hearing back from recruiters can make employees reluctant to refer again, a
mistake which undermines your employee referral program.
Communicate when possible. Let employees know what’s happening at every
stage of the process. When a referred candidate isn’t selected for an
interview, send referrers a thank you email anyway. Encourage them to keep
looking for great people. That way employee’s won’t feel underappreciated.
3. Acknowledge good referrers
Along with offering monetary referral rewards, try to publicly recognize
effective referrers. For example, if one employee has referred 10 people, six
of whom were hired in the past three months, you’ve got a star referrer on your
hands. Make sure they know you appreciate their effort. Any acknowledgement,
ranging from an award to public praise from the CEO, can be meaningful.
Dell uses the Dell Talent Community, its social sourcing tool, to award
points to “Top Referrers.” The more frequently employees share jobs in their
network and refer candidates, the more points they get, and their names are
displayed in Dell’s internal system. Dell also recognizes successful referrers
in team meetings, both locally and globally.
4. Offer a mix of monetary and non-monetary
incentives
Google made a mistake in employee referral strategy when it doubled its
$2,000 referral bonus. Money is a popular incentive but selling an experience
(e.g. trips, vouchers, or motorbikes) can better market your employee referral
program. And some of these incentives, like time off and gift vouchers, are
less expensive than cash awards. Salesforce.com recently surprised employees
who participated in their referral program with baseball tickets.
Salesforce also offers impromptu awards to drive referrals.
If you use money as an incentive, opt for a tiered system: it’s the
most effective tool to motivate employees to participate in your referral
program. Give higher rewards for harder-to-fill positions. Offer a flat amount
for each referral and then offer more if referred candidates get interviewed,
get hired or stay at your company for at least six months.
5. Enhance user experience
A user-friendly application process is essential to getting candidates to
apply for a job, and the same applies to referrals. Your referral process
shouldn’t be lengthy, complicated or require lots of clicks. Otherwise, you
risk driving referrers away.
Consider using a referral software or platform. This kind of software allows
hiring managers and recruiters to send requests for referrals for particular
positions. Referral software is also a good option if you want to help
employees share open positions with their social network. Applicant tracking
systems (ATSs) can typically integrate with dedicated referral software services,
or offer their own referral tools.
6. Experiment
Survey employees to find out what prompted them to refer (or, not
refer) and what suggestions they have to improve your referral program. A
successful referral program continues to adapt by making use of a variety of
initiatives. Try these techniques to improve your employee referral program:
- Plan spontaneous promotions:
A Booking.com recruiter got more referrals for a Portuguese-speaking
customer rep position by buying the whole office Portuguese food.
- Use aided recall techniques:
Google’s recruiters don’t pose a general request for referrals. They ask
more specific questions like, “Who’s the best developer you know?” That
way, their employees find it easier to think of someone.
- Try gamification technology:
Companies like Fiverr, a freelancing platform, use the gamification
options of their referral software. Keeping a leaderboard with scores and
achievements can motivate employees and help promote your referral
process.
- Offer special bonus schemes:
Intel recently announced that it will double its referral bonus
when the company hires women and minorities through referrals.
- Think from the candidate’s point of view:
Accenture makes it easy for candidates to initiate referrals by adding a “Get
Referred” button in their job postings.
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